A Leaf in a River
by josiahstick
Summary: It is 2014, and Isshiki Wakaba is struggling to balance completing her cognitive psience research alongside taking care of her daughter Futaba and cultivating her relationship with the charming Sakura Sojiro. Meanwhile Akechi Goro is forging his own path in the world, and to do so seeks out a distinguished man. As the streams of fate cross, disaster is imminent...


Isshiki Wakaba could not be called a good mother.

She could certainly be called a loving mother, but not a good one. She had been a good mother at one point, but since she had confirmed the existence of a cognitive world— a strange, unknown other reality where humanity's unconscious selves manifested —she had only become more and more distant from her daughter, Isshiki Futaba.

She fed Futaba, clothed her, kept her safe, but those were only the qualities of an adequate mother. Only a passing grade. And so Wakaba could not be a good mother. She could only proceed with her research of the cognitive world. It was all she could do now, day and night, to try and find a way to save herself. Herself and Futaba.

Wakaba considered all of this as she washed the dishes and carried them to the cabinet, her path hampered by the many miscellaneous items sitting upon the floor in their tiny apartment. Futaba needed to be kept safe. She hoped that should she fail, Sojiro would keep her safe. _Please._

This train of thought was abruptly halted as Futaba began to tug on Wakaba's dress, trying to get her attention.

"Mommy?" Futaba asked, a pleading look in her eyes.

Although she had not wished for the child, not expected her coming, she had certainly welcomed her birth, in spite of the fact that she was woefully unprepared for her. But Wakaba was confident and certain that she could handle it. She'd decided that she would have to. She very well could not let Futaba stay with her uncle… Wakaba's rotten brother. Youji was a man with many faces, and Futaba naturally had no idea of his true nature.

"What is it, Futaba?" Wakaba looked upon Futaba kindly as she approached her desk, which was covered with all manner of strange science equipment.

"Are you going to work again?"

"Futaba…"

Wakaba's heart was shattered by Futaba's innocent, desperate gaze. She only wanted the best for her daughter. And she did want to spend time with her. It had been so long—

"It's been so long!" Futaba cried, "Please! Please, please, please! I just want to go somewhere! Anywhere! Couldn't we go somewhere fun? Or at least take me to buy a game? We haven't been to Akihabara in forever! Or meet up with Grandma or Sojiro or Uncle Youji or—"

Futaba stopped short when she saw the look Wakaba was making.

"Futaba. Please, don't bother me right now." Wakaba's tone was sharp and short. "I'm very busy with my research. I need to finish it as soon as possible. I'm sorry."

"Bu-bu-bu…" Futaba buried her face in Wakaba's dress and began to cry. "You just think your research is more important than me… Don't you?!"

"Futaba!" Wakaba cried out. "Don't talk that way to me! Go sit over…"

Wakaba's voice trailed off into the ether. Futaba was still crying, and Wakaba couldn't bring herself to continue telling off the poor girl. So she shut her mouth and listened.

"You don't really love me!" her daughter wailed. "I'm just a pain and a burden and… and… you'd be better off without me, wouldn't you?!"

Futaba sobbed for a good few moments longer. Wakaba set aside the dishes, knelt down and gave her a hug.

The girl stopped in surprise, and her tears began to slow. Futaba looked at Wakaba, her temper softening and her eyes widening hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Futaba," she said softly. "Please listen to me."

The child nodded gently.

"I have to finish this for us," Wakaba explained. "It's not just my work on the line, Futaba. It could be our lives."

Futaba was silent.

"My research is almost over. Once it's finished," Wakaba promised, "we can go anywhere you like."

"A-a-anywhere?" Futaba's face lit up, and she dried away her tears.

"Yes, anywhere at all." Wakaba smiled. "I'm sorry I've left you alone for so long, Futaba. But please, try to understand. I need to complete this work. Even if it costs me my life."

"I…" Futaba returned the smile carefully. "I understand. But I don't want you to die…"

"I won't die," Wakaba promised. "I'll be here for you, Futaba. I'll do my best to stay."

* * *

Shido Masayoshi was bored.

He pored over the purloined research papers in his hand, uncertain of what to do. Exhausted from having worked most of the day, he looked up at the TV in his office to see if there was anything interesting on the news.

" _Today, Ace Detective Akechi Goro made a comment on the strange 'mental shutdown' incidents happening sporadically throughout the smaller regions of Tokyo."_

"Ace Detective, huh?" Shido scoffed at the notion. That kid was just some publicity stunt. There was no way that he could be real. Once Shido became Prime Minister, he'd have such obnoxious schemes discontinued. The boy was so arrogant, and it very much irked him.

" _Although these incidents have been limited to low-profile individuals,"_ Akechi said with a hint of knowing pride in his voice, _"the unknown nature of their cause, or perpetrator if one should exist, have caused much alarm within the police. I am currently working with them to resolve the incidents, and I am certain that someone will soon be caught and face justice for these crimes."_

"'Mental shutdown,' hmm…" Shido said aloud to himself. Curiously enough, it sounded quite like the conjecture posed by the stolen research data he was perusing. But of course it was all a whole bunch of hooey.

If it was, though, if it was…

No. It couldn't. There was no way such a thing could prove practical. He'd just have to go about it the normal way. With public appeal, controlling the economy, embarrassing the opposing party, whatever. One way or another, he'd make it out on top.

 _But…_ it would take such a long time, and someone would see through him. If he messed one thing up, it would stick with him forever. Sure, he could easily be officially absolved of any such blunder, but the public was not stupid. He might emerge victorious in the election, but he'd never have the whole country's approval. That, Shido felt, was an utmost necessity. If he didn't have that, he'd never truly win.

"Good afternoon," said a pleasant boy's voice. Shido looked up and saw a familiar-looking brown-haired boy in a plain black and white suit. He had a sly smile, and his eyes were a bright and deep brown. "How do you do, Shido-san?"

Shido dropped everything and stood up, apprehensively. "Who are you?!" he demanded loudly. "Why are you in my office?!"

"Please pardon my sudden entrance, Shido-san," the boy said, bowing respectfully, with a small smile upon his face. "My name is Akechi Goro— the Ace Detective. You may have seen me on television."

Shido turned off the television.

"I have no idea who you are, and I did not invite you here." He gestured to the open door. "Get out at once! And do not call me Shido-san!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Akechi Goro said, unfazed. "If I left now after the start of such a long and involved relationship, it would be such a shame."

"Wha-what do you-" Come to think of it, this boy reminded Shido of someone. Who could that be?

It was of no importance. This impudent brat needed to leave at once. Shido could not have an _'Ace Detective'_ poking through his belongings. "Never mind! Get out!"

"Shido-san," Akechi continued, ignoring him and staying in place. "I do not believe that would be in your interest. You see, I have… let us call them "specialties," that may be of service to you. You may want to close the door."

The teen celebrity's attitude was truly infuriating. Shido wanted to give this boy a good smack in the rear and send him back home to his mother.

" _GET OUT BEFORE I CALL SECURITY!"_ Shido shouted.

"Very well, I shall do it myself." Akechi closed the door. At seeing this, Shido picked up his desk phone and began dialing rapidly.

"What if I were to tell you, Shido-san," Akechi started, calmly, not disturbed in the slightest by Shido's adverse reaction to his presence, "that I could manipulate public thought?"

Shido stopped dialing, but the call was already going. The dial tone echoed conspicuously throughout the office.

"Manipulate public thought… What are you talking about?" Shido shouted. "Are you insane?!"

"No, no, not at all," Akechi answered, still wearing his stupid smile. "I speak the truth. Create any convenience, cause any accident, make anyone do anything anywhere…" Akechi lowered his voice slightly, though it was not necessary— Shido had not just this office, but the entire floor of this building, all to himself. _"Kill_ anyone. Leaving no trace of my involvement. I can do this, and much more, by simply changing cognition."

Cognition?

The security guard at the front desk picked up. _"Shido-san? Is everything alright?"_

Shido hung up the phone without responding.

"Where did you come from," he demanded of Akechi. "What do you know? Tell me everything at once, or you will regret ever setting foot in this place for the remainder of your miserable life!"

Akechi simply chuckled and held up his smartphone.

* * *

" _Although these incidents have been limited to low-profile individuals…"_

"Odd," Wakaba muttered. "It's almost exactly like my research." She found it odd that almost no one else at the lab took her work seriously, especially considering the continued occurrence of strange events such as those. Further worrying was that someone had stolen data from the laptop.

She would have thought that it was Futaba, had she not secured her computer to deter her from doing so. Clearly, it was someone else, who had access to the lab, and possessed greater technological prowess than either of the Isshikis. Wakaba wasn't certain who would have hired such a person, but it wasn't hard to imagine that they wished her harm. However much her colleagues ridiculed her, she knew that many men would kill to get their hands on her work.

Thankfully, the thief had only copied the contents of her hard drive, and not all the folders and notebooks she kept at home. So Wakaba still stood a chance. There was only one thing to do: She would have to investigate the cognitive world— and see it destroyed.

Wakaba had no idea how to do this, however. Though she possessed a reasonably good understanding of how it functioned, there were also many theories, which Wakaba could not fully confirm. But she was almost certain that most of them were accurate.

All she knew for certain was that it was a world of "Shadows" made up of humanity's repressed unconscious thoughts. There were also several reports of people having "mastered" their own Shadows in this world as "Personas." It could not be said for certain how this was done, but if she herself could achieve it…

The only things that Wakaba had to go on outside of her own findings were a ton of urban legends, and a series of essays primarily written by a mad scientist by the name of Kirijo. This man had written some nonsense about beginning the world again.

Some of the writings, however, were written by Kirijo's employees. One claimed the creation of a Shadow-mastering android. Wakaba thought this to be very amusing, though it would be incredible if it were true.

Although it was nearly impossible to access one's Shadow, there were many places around Tokyo where the wall seemed… unstable, is how she would put it, perhaps. So if she could just—

"Isshiki-san!" called out a delighted, childish voice.

It was Wakaba's nosy lab partner, Hisaya Hisa. A childish, frizzy-haired woman whose voice was as hard to hear as her name was hard to say with a straight face. Wakaba certainly understood how she could get so excited, but preferred to remain slightly more professional, especially in the lab.

"Hisaya-san," Wakaba said, smiling. "Are you well?"

"You bet I am!" Hisa cheered happily. "How about you? Got any further on that cognitive stuff?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I have." Wakaba nodded, though she did not do so honestly. She had not made any progress for a good few weeks, and had no idea what she was doing. She had spent much of her time poring over information that already existed, and it was frustrating her to no end.

"Oh. Well… I just wanted to let you know," Hisa told her, looking excited, "your handsome coffee boyfriend is here to pick you up!"

Wakaba instantly closed her laptop. "Coffee boyfriend?"

"Yeah, he's got that nice-lookin' vintage car… you don't remember? Cool glasses? Nice looking goatee that really suits him?"

Wakaba closed her laptop and went outside. "I'll see you later, Hisaya-san."

"Have a good date!"

Wakaba smiled and left. However, Hisa was quite mistaken. This was not a date. She needed to tell Sojiro something very important.

* * *

"Palace…? Shadow? What nonsense are you talking?!" Shido said, dumbfounded.

"Please allow me to demonstrate." Akechi then pushed the button, and sent them to Shido Masayoshi's cognitive world.

Shido stared out of the window and gasped in shock at the sight before him. "What… what is this?! What have you done?"

Akechi opened the window. Shido stuck his hand out, feeling the alien air, confirming that it was not a mirage.

A brilliant, vast sea swept through Tokyo, reflecting the pure pink sky above them. And in the middle of it all, a huge cruise ship sailed forth, bearing the National Diet Building upon its deck. As it passed by, it barely missed hitting the office building, and Shido felt the vibrations.

"This is your world," Akechi answered calmly, and, pointing at the ship, continued, "and that… is your Palace. The castle of your desires."

"My desires?" Shido was stunned. "I… this cannot be! How could I ever desire for this country to be drowned in… I would have no market! No support of the public! This does not make any sense!"

"Oh, but it can be," Akechi told Shido calmly. "You may not be willing to readily admit it, but this is the power you desire, is it not? Who do you think is on that ship?"

Shido stuck his head out the window and thought it over as the ship sailed away from them…

"I would suppose…" Shido smiled slightly. "If this country were sinking, I would put my accomplices on that ship. Those who were worthy or useful."

"Yes," Akechi confirmed. "I myself have been on that ship, and that is exactly who is there. Your cognition of those who support you."

Shido looked downwards into the ocean, thinking about who was there. He wondered if they were alright. Perhaps they were drowned. Perhaps he had drowned them. He decided then, that it did not matter… what mattered was that he had this power.

"I…" Shido smiled. "I think I could come to like this. By all means, Akechi… Ace Detective. Tell me more."

"You would like to attain something similar in reality?"

"Indeed," Shido chuckled. The sea outside grew more active, and crashed violently against the windows. "I would kill a hundred times over to have such a beautiful ship as that. To see the world drown beneath my feet and bow to my whim. Forget about Prime Minister! I'll—"

"Hold it!" Akechi yelled. "Something's coming this way!"

The door to Shido's office rattled and burst open. A husky security guard entered. _"State your business!"_ it shouted. _"You are trespassing in Lord Shido's domain!"_

" _Lord_ Shido… ?" Shido marveled, not expecting the manner to which he had referred. However, he quickly accepted it. "Yes, that is I. How may I—"

The guard transformed into a strange white dog-beast. _"YOU ARE AN IMPOSTER OF LORD SHIDO! YOU SHALL BE ELIMINATED!"_

"An imposter?" Akechi laughed. "No, this man is the genuine article. _PERSONA!"_ Akechi transformed into a black-masked, black-suited thing, and summoned a peculiar being which looked as if it was made from light. _"LOKI, DESTROY!"_

The Shadow was swiftly dispatched, and Akechi transformed back to normal, turning to Shido. "Apologies for the interruption. I shall explain that later."

Shido was awed. "Such power! With someone like you, I could very well—"

And then the windows shattered, as the sea level rose above them and flooded the office. But before Shido could drown in his own overflowing desires, Akechi was able to again reach his phone, and—

* * *

"Wakaba!" Sojiro was holding a small object in his hand. He seemed very happy to see her. "Good to see you, sweetheart. I brought you some coffee."

He held out a small thermos, which Wakaba eagerly took and sipped from. And she recognized it on her tongue— The rich scent and deliciously robust flavor of Sojiro's coffee, that only the two of them knew how to make.

"You're getting better," she said, smiling at him. "But it's a little bit _too_ strong."

"Last time you said it wasn't strong enough," Sojiro chuckled, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Geez, I was the one who made the recipe, but you're always the one telling me how to do it!"

She laughed heartily, but then put on a perfectly straight businesslike face.

"Wakaba," Sojiro said. "I'm glad you're here. I wanna talk to you about an idea I had."

"Oh… I have something to tell you too," Wakaba replied. "But, you first."

"Oh no, you can go ahead," Sojiro assured her.

"No, you asked first—"

"Ladies first." Sojiro's adamance was firm, but gentle. "Come on. I want to hear what you have to say." Sojiro stuffed whatever it was he was holding into his pocket and flashed one of his trademark charming grins.

"About my research—" Wakaba began, but stopped abruptly, seeing a slightly reluctant look on Sojiro's face.

"Er… I think… someone might be…" It was difficult for Wakaba to say. "I think someone might be trying to steal it."

"Why'd they want to do that?" Sojiro asked, a little quiet. "It's just a bunch of theories. There's not much anyone could do with it since none of it's actually been put into practice…"

"But…" That wasn't entirely true.

She remembered the day it'd worked, two years ago, when she'd been _there…_ and had heard her own voice. Her own voice, calling out…

Wakaba didn't even want to think about it. It hadn't been easy to escape. Her own voice, her own twisted, shadowy voice, still haunted her dreams to this day.

"Well… I…" Wakaba began to speak, but the words got caught in her throat.

"I'm finding this difficult to talk about," Sojiro admitted. "You look like you are too. Can we just let it go for today? I want to have a good time tonight."

Wakaba considered this. Sojiro seemed quite eager to enjoy himself with her. Plus, there had still been no progress in her research, even after all she had done. Perhaps a break was what she needed.

"Okay." She decided it would be best to go along with what Sojiro wanted to do, at least for now.

"Was there anything else you wanted to say?" Sojiro smiled appreciatively.

"No… I don't think so." Wakaba was sorry she'd killed the mood. "What did you want to tell me?"

"You know what, we've been here too long," Sojiro decided. "How about I tell you more when we get there?"

Apparently there'd been a bit of miscommunication, as it seemed that Sojiro did, in fact, see this as a date. Wakaba felt extremely anxious about taking time off from her research, but, it seemed like it might be for the best…

"All right," she said, giving into Sojiro's eternally charming smile. Wakaba smiled back, and Sojiro seemed very pleased. He gave her a reassuring look and began to drive.

"Don't worry," he promised. "It'll be alright. We'll have fun."

Her heart warmed by his confidence, Wakaba leaned her head against Sojiro's shoulder and closed her eyes.

He smelled like their coffee.

* * *

"So," Akechi said, finally concluding his proposal, "what do you say? Would you like to make use of my power?"

Shido Masayoshi carefully pondered all that the boy had told him. Palaces. Shadows. Metaverse. The data stolen from that researcher, Isshiki Wakaba, certainly corroborated Akechi's claims. Not that Shido would have needed such proof, after being shown such a strange world. It was quite a powerful weapon. It could very well be the key to the power he had been seeking all this time.

But, the famous Ace Detective had admitted to being a fraud. Not only that, but to be the very culprit he publicly claimed to be seeking. Shido briefly wondered if perhaps he ought to simply turn Akechi over to the police.

 _But if I did that, it would almost certainly lead to a colossal media frenzy,_ Shido reasoned. _And then my approval ratings would go down, especially if they found out about all my racketeering and blackmail to become a Diet member…_

"Give me some time to consider it," Shido said. "May I have your cell number?"

"Ah, I'm afraid not," Akechi said regrettably. "My phone is unfortunately not currently able to make calls. I'm staying at a foster home at the moment, and my caretakers forgot to pay the bill."

"Then may I have the foster home's number?"

"Do you really think that would be a good idea?" Akechi pointed out. "Anyone who uses the phone there gives up the luxury of privacy."

Shido sighed. The boy certainly had a point. He was careful, and that was certainly a commendable quality. "Very well. In that case, how might I reach you?"

"Sadly, you can't. But do not worry, Shido-san. I shall come to you." Akechi bowed respectfully. "When might I be able to see you again?"

Shido thought it over a moment. It wasn't like he had a very crowded schedule. He hadn't much to do apart from Diet meetings and other similar engagements, most of which could be skipped or called off if need be. "I have no preference. What time is convenient for you?"

"I also have no issue with any time you may propose," Akechi assured Shido. "I am not a particularly busy person, apart from television appearances. And for someone as important as you, Shido-san, I can easily have those postponed."

"In that case," Shido decided, "you may return here by this time tomorrow. By then, I will have an answer for you."

"I shall do just that," Akechi promised. "Thank you for your time." He graciously bowed his head and left the office.

The false detective had an intriguing proposal, that was for certain. But there was something about him that bothered Shido. The kid reminded him of someone. Someone who he had not seen in many years.

That was not relevant, Shido decided. For now, there was someone else whose help he needed to ask. He picked up the phone and began dialing.

"Kaneto," he said, speaking crisply into the receiver. "There is someone to whom I need you to deliver a message."

* * *

"You know," Wakaba said, beaming, "you really didn't have to do this for me."

"I know," Sojiro returned kindly, "but I tried my best for you, sweetheart." He flashed a brilliant smile at her. "You look very nice tonight, by the way."

"Oh, you're a flatterer, Sojiro," Wakaba laughed. "You caught me completely unawares. I didn't even have a chance to put on lipstick!"

They both laughed together a moment, and looked at each other lovingly.

The two of them were sitting across from each other in a lavishly decorated restaurant. Sojiro had been saving up his money to surprise her, and now they were drinking some of the most delicious wine she had ever tasted.

"So, honey," Wakaba asked sweetly, sipping her drink, "what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, what I wanted to tell you… how do I say this…" Sojiro tugged at his goatee anxiously. "I'm… thinking of opening a coffee shop."

"A coffee shop? That sounds wonderful!" The thought of it quite excited her quite a lot. The special coffee they had perfected together, being served to the wider world. It was a fantastic prospect. "What would you call it?"

"Hmm…" Sojiro mused this over for a minute. "Actually, I don't know… I was thinking we might name it something classy and old-fashioned. Like—"

"How about 'Leblanc?'"

Sojiro stopped and turned to Wakaba in surprise. "How'd you come up with that all of a sudden?"

"It's the name of one of my favorite authors," Wakaba told Sojiro with a sweet grin. "Maurice Leblanc."

"Maurice Leblanc, huh?" Sojiro mused. "Never heard of him before."

"I think I have one of his books with me…" Wakaba leaned down and rifled through her bag. "Hmm, no, I seem to have left it at home." She righted herself and resumed eye contact with Sojiro.

"What was it called?"

"I think it was… _Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar."_ Wakaba considered this a moment. "Yes— that was the title. It was something of a random plot spread out over many only somewhat related events, but nonetheless it was an exciting story."

"I just might have to read it sometime," Sojiro decided as he took another sip of wine. "Anyway… Leblanc, huh." His hands assumed a thinking pose on his chin as he considered it. "It sounds sophisticated, yet… relaxed, somehow. I think we could keep it."

Wakaba laughed and gave him a coy look. "Sojiro, you can't keep a name."

"Well, I know, I meant that—"

"It's not like names are the sorts of things you could take hold of and keep in boxes," Wakaba said flippantly. "I think they'd probably get mad."

Sojiro chuckled. "You always take everything so literally. I suppose that's what I get for dating a scientist."

Wakaba giggled, smiling at her own joke. Sojiro seemed quite happy, and joined in her childlike mirth.

"Anyway," she wondered, "you said 'we' when you were talking about the coffee shop. What did you mean by that?"

"Oh, uh yeah," Sojiro said, his nervousness becoming more apparent, "I guess I should really…"

"What, Sojiro?" Wakaba was shaking with anticipation of whatever he was going to say. If he was getting this nervous, it had to be big. "What did you want to do?"

He cleared his throat and did his best to regain his composure. "Wakaba, there was something else I wanted to ask you."

"What'd that be?"

"Well…" Sojiro reached into his pocket and took out a small, elegant black case. The thing he had been hiding before.

"Wakaba…"

"Don't tell me…" she breathed. Wakaba knew what was coming now, and she was quite surprised. But then again, how could she have not seen it? Surprising her, taking her out, telling her about the coffee shop… everything made sense. Of course. He would want to have her there with him.

Sojiro opened the case.

"Will you marry me?"

* * *

Akechi smiled gleefully as he left the office. It was good that he'd been able to quickly access his phone and send himself and Shido back from whence they had come. Had they stayed but a minute longer, they'd both have doomed themselves.

It was enough, however. The convincing had been done. Although Shido had not yet agreed to take him on, Akechi was confident that he soon would. His plot to exact revenge would soon be in its beginning stages.

The one difficult thing to do had been to encourage Shido and pretend to be on his side. Akechi was personally disgusted by Shido's Palace. He had seen other more objectively dangerous Palaces than that before, but that one was quite the most—

"Hey, _GORO!"_

Who was that? Akechi shrugged it off. Probably just an overexcited fan of the Ace Detective. Akechi was irritated that they had the audacity to call him by his personal name, but he decided it was best to simply ignore them. He did not respond or look behind him, and kept walking.

" _GORO-KUN!"_

"Goro-kun?" he muttered aloud to himself. "What an obnoxiously persistent person…" However, it was no great concern to him. If this kept up, he'd just have to tell them to go away—

" _ **MISTER 'ACE DETECTIVE' AKECHI!**_ I'm talkin' to _**YOU!"**_

Akechi sighed and turned around to face them, quickly fixing a warm false smile upon his face. "Good afternoon," he said pleasantly. "May I help you?"

"I'm here to give you a message, _Goro-kun."_ the young man said curtly. He had bright, spiky, flaming orange hair, and was wearing an eyesore of a purple suit which really did not fit his appearance at all. He was at least 22 for sure, and a good bit taller than Akechi.

"I apologize, but I am in quite a rush, so please make this quick." Akechi bowed respectfully.

"Man, you've got manners, kid!" the man laughed. "Fat lot of good that's gonna do you though. We ain't negotiating here."

Akechi found this extremely amusing, as he did not perceive this man to be having any manners himself. "Are you here to engage in a physical altercation?" he inquired calmly. "If that is the case, I should warn you that I am expertly trained in various manners of martial arts and defense techniques."

This wasn't actually true. Akechi was a worthless fighter outside of the Metaverse. Still, he hoped his confidence would serve to deter this impertinent interloper.

The fellow laughed uproariously. "Ha, that's rich! No, I'm not here to fight it out. I'm Chisaka Eiichiro."

Akechi narrowed his eyes. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Chisaka Eiichiro!" The purple-suited man seemed quite annoyed. "You're saying you ain't never heard of me before?"

"I'm afraid I can't say I have, no," Akechi said apologetically. "Should I have?"

"You bet your ass you should have," Chisaka declared. "My father made a huge donation to a hospital in rural Tokyo to benefit children in poverty. That ring a bell to you?"

"I'm afraid I wasn't aware of your or your father's exploits prior to now. What does any of this have to do with me?" Akechi asked. "And who is your father exactly?"

"You don't know who my father is?!" Chisaka was fuming now. "How did you… whatever! The point is, I was supposed to be on TV to talk about it earlier today, but my appearance was cancelled."

"Oh, that is unfortunate. Good day." Akechi turned away to leave, but Chisaka grabbed him by the collar and spun him around.

"I wasn't done, you brat!"

Akechi rolled his eyes, and Eiichiro snarled.

"My appearance got cancelled, and some impudent child 'detective' was scheduled in its place! He was 'solving a case' or some bullshit!"

"I see," Akechi said in the most apologetic tone he could muster. "I apologize for the inconvenience. However, the TV station's schedule was out of my control. I would suggest that you—"

" _SHUT UP, YOU BRAT!"_ Chisaka yelled abrasively. "Now you listen here. The Chisaka family are legends! No one messes with us and gets away with it!"

Akechi shrugged nonchalantly. "I suppose I just did."

"You've got some lip there," Chisaka commented. "That's gonna be your downfall, Goro-kun. I'm gonna cut you off the airwaves!"

Akechi froze, dropping his usual facade. "Are you serious? But I haven't done anything to you!"

"You've stood in my way. You've done _everything_ to me!" Chisaka spat, still fuming with anger. "So I'm gonna do everything to you! You're not gonna survive, _Ace Detective_. I'm gonna tell the police that you're the one behind the mental shutdowns!"

 _WHAT?!_ Akechi couldn't believe it. Did he have any proof? Or power to do that? No way! There was no way he could…

"But that's not true!" Akechi shouted, glad that his experience with acting made him sound indignant and annoyed rather than worried or afraid. This fool couldn't hope to have proof. But if the police ever deigned to give his word the time of day…

"Baseless accusations such as that could land you in a lot of trouble with the police, and I'm sure even your father's wealth can't save you from everything." Akechi did his best to keep a straight face.

Of course, that was naught but a bald-faced lie. It was reasonable to think that anyone believing they had the power to get him arrested without evidence likely had the sway to stay out of jail themselves.

"Oh, we'll see about that," Chisaka said, smirking. "I know full well you're not the culprit, because a killer wouldn't be plastering your face all over the TV, if you're half as smart as you think you are. No, you're just some no-name loser who wants to steal the spotlight from the people who deserve it. But people will believe whatever I say nonetheless. Your word against mine, Goro-kun."

He laughed and strutted away with a triumphant, arrogant smile plastered across his face.

Akechi carefully considered the situation. If Chisaka Eiichiro got him arrested, it would likely make it more suspicious if any incidents didn't happen while he was in custody. Or if any happened right as he was released… and, that wasn't even accounting for how this charlatan could potentially interfere with his gaining Shido's trust!

If even the smallest rumors were started about his involvement, it could ruin everything he'd worked for... Akechi gritted his teeth behind a carefully crafted guise of unamusement. Igor had warned him that something like this might happen.

He needed to do something about this. He'd just have to eliminate this "Chisaka" cretin before he got the chance to ruin his plans… Yes, that would be exactly what he'd do. He smirked and stood up, pulling out his phone.

"Chisaka Eiichiro."

* * *

Wakaba stared, stunned, at the ring in Sojiro's hand.

"Sojiro, I… Thank you, but…"

"What's wrong?" Sojiro asked, his voice still lighthearted. "Cat got your tongue?"

Wakaba bit her tongue, and closed her mouth. She had not expected this at all. How could she answer? She wasn't ready for marriage in the slightest. It was hard enough caring for a child. Not to mention…

But yet, she wanted to. She really wanted to join him. Wakaba really did want to wed Sojiro and join him in his coffee shop… but how could she do that now?

"Uh… Sojiro, I think—"

The words stuck in her throat. How could she tell Sojiro that her life was in danger at a time like this? He was so earnest, so… cool. He seemed really excited about all this, but—

"Excuse me!"

Wakaba and Sojiro turned around to see who had spoken. A bespectacled man in a suit with messy brown hair rushed towards her.

"Isshiki-san," the man said apologetically, "please pardon the intrusion, but I must speak with you at once. My name is Kaneto Masaji. I have come bearing news of a great opportunity for you."

Kaneto Masaji looked extremely nervous. Isshiki looked at him and quickly mentally analyzed his face. He seemed to be quite hyperactive. "What do you want with me?"

He cleared his throat and began to explain. "Simply put, my boss would like to offer you a job," Kaneto Masaji explained. "He saw your research. He's interested to see what you could do?"

"Saw… my research?" Wakaba was extremely suspicious.

"Yeah," Kaneto went on, smiling excitedly. "Really impressed by it. So what do you say? He's a great boss!"

"Hey buddy," Sojiro said, sounding agitated, "you're interrupting. My lady and I were busy enjoying our evening. I think you'd better make this quick."

Wakaba narrowed her eyes at the man dubiously.

"What would this work entail?"

* * *

" _WHO'RE YOU?!"_

Akechi glared menacingly at Chisaka Eiichiro's Shadow and removed his mask, revealing his face. The red void of Mementos from which he had come swirled wildly behind him.

"Akechi Goro…" Chisaka's Shadow gasped. "So the killer is you! My, you're even dumber than I thought!"

"No, Chisaka Eiichiro," Akechi said, gleefully leering at him with a clear and profound arrogance. "I am even smarter than you could ever imagine. I have come to prevent you unwittingly exposing me. You said it yourself, didn't you? That you would have never guessed?" Akechi cackled at the Shadow malevolently. "Of course not. Sometimes, the best-laid plans… are the stupidest ones."

"You… you… you killed those people…" Shadow Chisaka snarled. "Even I would never stoop that low! _YOU BASTARD!"_ He began to transform. _"I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!"_

Chisaka transformed into a great, tall demon with red skin and many arms with swords. "You're a monster… _I'm gonna KILL YOU!"_

"I'd like to see you try," Akechi snapped, tearing away his black mask. _"Arise, LOKI!"_

* * *

As Kaneto Masaji entered the restaurant, a tall, fair woman with long red hair sitting in a van watched from afar with binoculars. She wore a long skirt and a small black jacket. Sitting besides her was a small girl with short hair of a light blonde shade. She was wearing a black cloak which hid most of her body, and strange red headphone-like things on her ears.

"Did you find the researcher?" asked the blonde girl in a nearly-human sounding voice. "Should we attempt to approach her?"

"No," said the fair woman, in a plain, logical tone. "Doing so now would be dangerous. It appears that that man is seeking her out as well."

"Does that man mean her harm?"

"I don't believe so." The red-haired woman peered at them through the glass windows. "The man appears to be attempting some sort of negotiation. Hmm…"

A tangible moment of silence passed between the tall woman and the strange cloaked girl.

"What are you thinking right now?"

"I am thinking that, perhaps…" she lowered the binoculars from her face, revealing her deep reddish-brown eyes. "The enemy is onto Isshiki as well."

The blonde girl lifted the cloak's hood from her face and peered outwards to the window, seeing Isshiki Wakaba and Kaneto Masaji as they conversed. Sitting at the table nearby was a black-haired man with glasses and a goatee, looking extremely annoyed at the situation. Her deep sea-blue eyes followed this all with precise motions, the irises and pupils rotating and revolving within her head as if they were lenses on a camera.

"We must be careful," the blonde girl decided, blinking for the first time in about thirty minutes. "If they get to her first, we'll be unable to complete our mission."

"That much is quite clear," the fair woman agreed. "But it may be too risky to talk to her for the time being. For now, we should observe and plan our next move. Let's go."

"Very well. May I drive?"

"No." The red-haired woman moved herself into the driver's seat and started the vehicle. "I know you're adept with other machines— but this is a company car, and you're still only fifteen."

The younger girl nodded, smiling slyly as she said the one word she was best known for.

"Understood."

* * *

 ** _Hey everyone! Hope you liked this. Basically, this is right before Akechi starts working for Shido and... yeah. That happens. But don't worry about it! I've got some cool surprises planned for this so it'll be interesting to read I hope._**

 ** _If you're not familiar with me, or my writing, well, I wrote and am still writing another very huge fic entitled_ The Many Arrests of the Phantom _, which my editor Mac is also working on with me. I'll be trying to write one chapter of this and then one chapter of that every week or so. The two fics are planned to be connected in small ways, but you do not need to read that fic to understand this one or vice versa. So, although I would love it if you read all the stuff, don't feel pressured :)_**

 ** _anyway, till next time!_**


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